Camouflage 103
I am often asked about some of the pictures of animals that I take. The cute or majestic animal pictures are usually self-explanatory. The issue is often with the strange looking lizards that get questioned. Some of them are not exactly fearsome or threatening. Most of the time, the lizard is sunning itself or trying to get away. That is when the explanation gets complicated.
I like to point that most animals have a sense of self preservation so they are doing interesting things like taking cover when scouting around, keeping a low profile or even hiding in plain sight. But my picture critics then point out that the animals in my pictures are pretty obvious.
To understand why the animals in most of my pictures are very obvious is due to 2 things. My camera's ability to zoom in on the animal as well as its auto-focus feature. (The photographer would also like to confess that he deletes the poorly taken pictures).
Most animals do not solely rely on blending with their background to stay hidden. To stay hidden with perfect camouflage means keeping still. This is a bad strategy for most predators can smell, taste the smell (aka snakes with their forked tongue). The other issue is camouflage is usually partial. (Eg. Works when predator are looking top down or straight at eye level.) This means that the prey is pretty obvious when the predator is close to it. (It also means that when I zoom in on the animal, its silhouette is extremely obvious.)
The camouflage is used so that the animal's presence is not advertised especially across great distances. This gives the prey a higher chance to detect the predator first. The predators usually practise hunting tricks like staying downwind, making use of cover and keeping a low profile. Secondly, if the animals moves in a herd or flock, it is not necessary to stay so well hidden since a member of the group will detect the predator first. Thirdly, most prey depend on their speed to get away. The camouflage is use to give the prey a head start. Lastly, as most animals do roam around different terrain, it is not possible to change one's camouflage to match their surrounding. As long as it is not bright red or pink, it makes it harder to detect the animal. That is why orangutans are reddish orange.
Camouflage works as long as it has the following criteria. One or more colours match the background. The stripes or spots help break the shape of the animal. It is greatly improved when there is some matching foreground.
I like to point that most animals have a sense of self preservation so they are doing interesting things like taking cover when scouting around, keeping a low profile or even hiding in plain sight. But my picture critics then point out that the animals in my pictures are pretty obvious.
To understand why the animals in most of my pictures are very obvious is due to 2 things. My camera's ability to zoom in on the animal as well as its auto-focus feature. (The photographer would also like to confess that he deletes the poorly taken pictures).
Most animals do not solely rely on blending with their background to stay hidden. To stay hidden with perfect camouflage means keeping still. This is a bad strategy for most predators can smell, taste the smell (aka snakes with their forked tongue). The other issue is camouflage is usually partial. (Eg. Works when predator are looking top down or straight at eye level.) This means that the prey is pretty obvious when the predator is close to it. (It also means that when I zoom in on the animal, its silhouette is extremely obvious.)
The camouflage is used so that the animal's presence is not advertised especially across great distances. This gives the prey a higher chance to detect the predator first. The predators usually practise hunting tricks like staying downwind, making use of cover and keeping a low profile. Secondly, if the animals moves in a herd or flock, it is not necessary to stay so well hidden since a member of the group will detect the predator first. Thirdly, most prey depend on their speed to get away. The camouflage is use to give the prey a head start. Lastly, as most animals do roam around different terrain, it is not possible to change one's camouflage to match their surrounding. As long as it is not bright red or pink, it makes it harder to detect the animal. That is why orangutans are reddish orange.
Camouflage works as long as it has the following criteria. One or more colours match the background. The stripes or spots help break the shape of the animal. It is greatly improved when there is some matching foreground.
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